Guardian Angel
by Blueh
Summary: Ace had died. He clearly remembered the fact, yet he somehow wakes up in a world that is not like his own, where no one can see him, hear him or touch him. There, he meets his little brother who happens to be an abused child. Can Ace and Luffy's friends help him out of this? Or will Luffy fall victim to Teach's torture? AceLu brotherly.
1. Ghost of the Past

Death is a funny thing, isn't it? One moment, you're saving your brother from a rabid psychopath who just so happened to have lava powers, and doesn't really care about weather your defenseless or not and the next time you open your eyes, your about to be run over by a huge, blue meta thing that you have _never _seen before.

. . . Ace wasn't having a very good day, was he?

The young adult's instincts kicked in, screaming at him to _move, _which might've been helpful if it wasn't for the fact that he _couldn't _move. His body wasn't in pain, in fact, there wasn't even a hole in his chest anymore (he'd figure that out later) it was like his feet were bolted down to the ground with sea-stone nails.

The only thing he could do was stare wide-eyed at the metal monster in front of him, the only thing racing through his head was, 'holy shit, I'm going to die again.' Which wasn't very reassuring and was actually quite a pathetic last thought.

_Really Ace? _He mentally scolded himself. _You face admirals, endure hell and go against the strongest man in the world, only to die by a metal ship on wheels? _Really?

It was a joke; a cruel joke. Ace now understood the term 'hell' because, damn, he was about at the limit where he was going to punch someone in the face and hopefully break a few bones.

The fire-user turned away, bracing himself for an impact. Yet, it never came.

In fact, Ace couldn't feel anything. Blinking open his eyes in confusion, looking around only to have another one of those metal monsters _pass right through him._

What the fuck was going on, here?

He'd seen some strange things roaming on the Grand Line, but this took the cake. Being passed through was definitely not a feeling that Ace had ever experienced. Or hoped to experience, for the matter. In fact, Ace was _completely _content with just being solid.

Forcing his mind back to his body, the teen raced for the sidewalk, hoping that he wasn't going to get run through _again. _The other people just walked around lazily like any other town Ace had been to. Though they didn't seem surprised about the killing machines that raced along the black cement road or the fact that someone had _almost freaking died._

Wait, could Ace die twice?

He shook his head, opening his mouth to warn the people about the metal monsters, but his words died in his mouth as he watched some guy open the monster and calmly get _inside _of it. Ace could only gawk as the machine suddenly roared to life and took off into the street full of all the other monsters.

"This is _so _messed up." Ace muttered to himself as he watched the people walk by him without even glancing at the teen with no shirt on. "Where am I?" He wondered aloud. "This sure as hell isn't Marineford or any other place I know of on the Grand Line."

He wondered if he should go ask one of the civilians but then shook the thought out of his mind. What if they recognized him? The marines did, after all, broadcast his entire linage to the world. It didn't even occur to him that he was standing out in the middle of everything where someone could easily recognize him and call the marines just so he could die _again._

No thank you.

But he hardened his resolve, confident that he could take on the marines sent his way. Without properly thinking anything through, the fire-user walked straight up to one of the civilians that were calmly walking down the street. "Excuse me—" The civilian ignored him and walked right by him without a care in the world.

"Rude," Ace huffed, puffing out his cheeks slightly. He moved onto the next person; a woman around the age of twenty. "Hello miss, do you—" Again, the woman walked right past him without a second glance.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, the fire-user came to the conclusion that he _hated _this island, especially the people. He was rather pissed off to begin with and now these morons wouldn't even tell him what he wanted to know? Honestly. He just wanted to know where he was so he could get back to his family.

He spotted his next victim and this time, he wasn't taking no for an answer. "Sir—" Ace tried once more, attempting to to put his hand on the man's shoulder just in case he was planning on ignoring him as well. It probably would've gotten the man's attention if it weren't for the fact that Ace's hand _passed right through him._

"Shit!" Ace jumped back, staring at the man (who hadn't noticed a thing) and then staring at his hand in horror. He felt like his head was going to burst at the rate it was spinning as he tried to reason with everything that had been going on. "Someone _please _tell me this is a joke."

But no one ever did.

The fire-user, then preceded to wave his hands through the people's faced, denying the fact that _no one _could see him. That no one could hear him as he yelled at them, desperately trying to wake up from this nightmare. That no one could feel him as he grabbed onto people shoulders, waists, hair.

Still in shock, Ace backed up until his back hit the wall behind him. He quickly scrambled into the nearest alley and slumped onto the cold, hard and unforgiving ground that was littered with garbage and blood.

_Was this hell? _He wondered, staring up at the sky that held no stars. _Is this how I'm going to spend the rest of eternity? Alone? As a faceless ghost who wonders the earth? _

Ace winced. Alone? That might've been okay with him years ago but now he couldn't seem to bear to think about it. He had a family, damnit! He had a father! A _real _one this time! He had a little brother who had gone through hell to save him! His eyes started to sting but he refused to let the tears fall.

He was alone again, wasn't he?

And Ace's mind drifted to the war. Why did they fight for him? Why did they call him brother? He thought about the raging fire that he saw in Luffy's eyes as he punched marines down one after another. The same brother who had changed his life in more ways than one.

_Being alone is worse than being hurt! _

And now, starring at that dull, starless sky, Ace felt as if he truly understood those words that Luffy had understood at age seven. He missed them. Everyone. He missed them so much that it hurt more than any physical pain that he'd ever experienced.

For the first time in a long time, Ace felt salty tears run down his face. He didn't wipe them away. He couldn't. He was mourning. Mourning his father. His nakama. His brother. He was mourning his life.

It was pitiful, really. Wasn't he Whitebeard's Second Division Commander? Wasn't he Hiken no Ace, feared across the whole word? Wasn't he Luffy's older brother, who had blatantly told the boy several times that 'crybabies were weak' and 'crybabies get left behind'?

Did he have a right to call himself brother anymore? Did he have a right to call himself a commander when he couldn't even protect his captain? Hell, he was the reason his captain died in the first place! And . . . And . . .

He died too, didn't he?

Yeah. That's right. Ace _died. _Memories flashed before his eyes and he let out an involuntary gasp. Luffy! What happened to Luffy? All he remembered was his little brother, in so much pain, on the bloodied ground as Akainu went for him. He remembered the pain. The pain the blazed across his whole body as he shielded the boy that had changed his life. He remembered . . .

"_Thank you . . . For loving me!" _

_No_, Ace thought as he buried his face into his arms. Luffy. Luffy was there. Luffy had caught him when he could no longer hold himself. Luffy had heard him cry as he finally died. Why Luffy? Didn't he lose Sabo, too? Luffy didn't deserve that! Luffy was innocent. Pure. Someone that you couldn't push down no matter how hard you punched.

He was the start of the trio. The catalyst of their duo. The one that carried all of their dreams on his back, alone.

Why was Luffy alone again?! He promised! He promised Sabo! He promised himself! He had told the boy, right?! It wasn't fair._ It wasn't fair. _

_"Listen Luffy, I will never die!" _

Yet another promise out the window, huh? He really should think about things before he says them, because, damn, he has a really big mouth when he's sad. Or angry. Or depressed.

Ace lifted his head out of his arms, placing it against the brick wall as he whipped away the dry tears. The sky was so dull compared to what Ace remembered . . . He used to lay out on the deck of the Moby Dick for hours, just watching the stars, hoping the one-day he might be one of them. This place—This place didn't feel right. Didn't feel real.

Ace held up his hand in front of him, almost sighing in relief as the familiar warmth took over and his hand lit up in a bright flash of fire. The fire blazed across his shoulders and arms for a moment until they flicked out. He still had his mera mera no mi and no matter how desperate it sounded, he was glad that he still had something familiar with him.

He looked out on the streets, watching as people raced by like it was any other average day. They seemed so comfortable here, living beside the metal monsters and bright neon lights came from the buildings.

Was he even in his own world anymore? Ace doubted it, as ridiculous as it sounds. From the monsters to the people that couldn't see him, things were really messed up. If Luffy were here, his little brother would probably laugh, call it an adventure. He could see it now— Wait.

A flash of yellow raced past the entrance of the alley way before it disappeared again. Ace's mouth hung open for a second as he tried to gather his thoughts back up in his mind.

Wait. Wait. Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait_wait— Was that . . .?_

The fire user jumped to his feat, eyes wild and a tad bit crazy. He took off, out of the alley, racing in the direction that he saw _it. _His heart was pounding through his chest as he searched through the crowd of people that were walking. He still didn't like the fact that he passed through a few of them, but that could wait for another time.

He was almost positive that he saw it! It had to be! No one else in the whole world would wear such a unique item out in public.

_A straw hat._

And it was! Ace could only gap as the familiar thin frame raced through the crowd with so much grace that Ace wondered if he'd done this before. Ace just stood there in shock as Luffy raced away, his eyes a little damp and his mouth hanging open in a silent cry.

"Luffy . . ." He whispered, his legs turning out without him. Wind and people whipped through him as he thought of everything. Of the war. Of Sabo. Of Luffy. "Luffy!" He cried out a bit louder and much more desperate. Fresh tears swayed at the corner of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. "Luffy, wait!"

Ace's mind was blank as he plowed through everyone. Everything. The lights that swirled around him became a blur. He cried out Luffy's name, though the boy never responded.

As he finally caught up to the boy, a distant thought raced through his mind. What if Luffy couldn't see him? Would he be just like everyone else in this whole hellhole? Would his moment of relief turn into horror just like before?

The answer was yes. This was a nightmare.

Luffy didn't even feel him as his hand passed right through the boy's shoulder. Ace stopped running at that point. There was no need.

No, please no.

Not even his little brother could see him? Was hell this horrible? "Luffy." Ace said with as strong of a voice as he could muster. Luffy's figure was disappearing though the other people, though Ace still didn't move. "I'm so sorry. I really am. I didn't want this. I want to talk to you. I want you to hear me. To see me. But you can't, can you? You're probably not even the Luffy that I grew up with." He gave a wet chuckle. "_I'm sorry."_

Like Ace expected, Luffy never turned around. The fire-user watched his back until the red of his vest disappeared in the crowd and Ace found his feet _moving. _It was as if fate itself wanted Ace to follow the boy.

The fire-user sighed as he caught up to the boy once again, only then noticing the look of horror on the boy's face. "Luffy . . ? What's wrong?" And even though he knew the boy couldn't answer him, Ace talked anyways.

"I can't be late," Luffy whimpered to himself, his eyes wide and his voice was full of fear. "He'll _kill _me."

Without warning, Luffy turned into an alley, slowing his pace to a brisk walk. Ace stuffed his hands in his shirt pockets and followed with mild interest. A worried frown had made its way across his face as he said, "Who's going to kill you?" The war flashed through his mind and his eyes lost all emotion. "If anyone tries, I'll be the one killing tonight."

Still, Luffy didn't hear him as he jumped a chain-length fence and separated . . . _something_. Ace just walked right through it, not completely comfortable with his newfound power, but he wasn't going to waste it either.

His eyes narrowed when his little brother let out a sigh of relief as a door came in view. The teen jogged up to the door, his happiness replaced with fear and pain. His placed his hand on the door, then let it slide down to the doorknob, but he didn't open it.

Instead, Luffy just stared at the door and whispered, "Please don't be home. Please don't be home."

Before Ace could even comprehend what his little brother had said, the door swung open from the other side, causing Luffy to cry out and take a step back, eyes full of fear as he stared up was a man that Ace never wanted to see again.

With a twisted grin, the man reached out and grabbed a fistful of Luffy's hair, pulling forward so he was face to face. "Hello little Luffy. _Welcome home."_

Two voices answered back, even if the man could only hear one. Two tones chorused together; one scared and one incredibly pissed.

"_Teach." _

* * *

**And here's yet another story yay. This is the last multi-chapter story, I kind of promise. At least, until most of my stories get to chapter ten or so. Unexpected Emergencies has nine and Confusion Ensured has 10 but things like Hunted and Sanity only have two. **

**I already have the first two or three chapters written out for this one and a detailed plot to go with it. This story is about a year old, I came up with it around the time that I came up with Shattered, but I've just never posted it. **

**It'll have Acelu in this, but only brotherly unless a majority want it otherwise. **

**Other than that, enjoy! ~ Comments and such are very appreciated c: **


	2. Fate

Ace's left eye twitched, fire racing along his shoulders. The fire-user's dark grey eyes seemed to glow in the dim alleyway light. Distantly, he heard the roar of those metal monsters and the happy chatting of people as they just went along like any other day. To think that this was all was happening right under their noses made Ace completely sick. How could anyone not feel them?

Even if he wasn't in his world anymore, people still had haki, right? There were still devil fruits and the other crazy things that his world had, _wasn't there? _

Teach took a step forward, his hand twisting Luffy's hair, making the boy grimace. "You're late," He noted nonchalantly as a sick grin appeared on his fat face. This Blackbeard was a bit different from the Blackbeard that Ace remembered—the one that had captured him wore no shirt, where this one wore a plain white t-shirt that was covered in what looked like grease stains? He body figure was still the same, maybe a bit heavier. He had one earing in his left ear and had (way too small) shorts on.

"You son'uva bitch!" Ace snarled, launching himself at the man despite knowing that the bastard was like any other person in this world and therefore could not be touched. This included being harmed in any way shape or form.

It didn't deter Ace in the slightest when he just sailed right through the man, landing a foot away and launching at him again. Ace didn't know why he didn't just stop; after all, this was getting nowhere.

So, instead, he crossed his arms and let out a low snarl, plopping down on the ground a few feet away while thinking of ways that he could torture the man as much as he wanted. "If you harm _one hair _on Luffy's head, I'll burn you body to a crisp and shove it down Akainu's throat." He continued to growl as Blackbeard got in Luffy's face, making the boy wince. "I suggest that you _let him go_ if you want you're life, Blackbeard!"

But the threats never reached the man's ears as he happily (in a sick way, of course) yanked Luffy inside the ominous house and slammed that damn wooden door in the Ace's face. "_Oh, _I'm going to burn this damn place down after I kill you, Teach."

Ace didn't even try to reach for the doorknob, instead just walking straight through the door with ease. The inside of the house was dark; way to dark for Ace's liking. The only thing that lit up the room came from the moon that fluttered through the curtains and the small light on a ceiling fan.

Ace's eyes hardened as he spotted Teach, right as the man shoved his little brother to the ground and raised his leg as if he was going to kick the boy. Luffy closed his eyes, waiting for the attack to connect with his body.

Ace's mind went blank. This was too much like Marineford. _Too much. _All the blood, death and pain flashed through his mind as he raced across the room, stopping right in front of Luffy like he always did.

But to his dismay, the man's leg went right through him and he could only watch as his brother received a rough kick right in the stomach, sending him sprawling into the wall with a cry of pain.

"Luffy!" Ace cried out, his eyes widening in horror. What about Luffy's devil Fruit? Wouldn't that protect him? Surely, the kick hadn't been that hard, had it? Luffy had always been able to take a punch.

The fire-user raced to his brother, kneeling beside him to check his body for injuries. Luffy didn't move, only opening his eyes to stare at the bastard that Ace had hardly felt approach. He turned around and snarled, much like that of a feral dog and placed an arm in front of Luffy. "Stay away!"

"You know what happens when you're late." Blackbeard spat, his sick smile replaced with an angry scowl. His fists were clenched at his sides as if he had a _reason _to be mad at the boy. "Don't you, _Luffy_?!" Underneath the man, Luffy winced and Ace's fire started to race from his shoulders once again.

"Sorry," The boy muttered, his breathing coming out as short puffs. "I won't be late again. I promise."

Blackbeard sneered down at him, delivering a swift kick to the back of the boy's head before lumbering to a rugged looking couch and flopping out on it as if he owned the world. He reached out to the side-table and grabbed an open beer that he had no doubt been working on before Luffy arrived and started gulping it down. "Better not be." With his free hand, he flicked on the TV, grinning when some weird show came on.

"You _sick _bastard," Ace snarled but his fire slowly started to flicker out. What was the point of using it if you couldn't even get your victim to notice you?

Ace had never felt so useless in all of his life.

* * *

Ace sat on the edge of Luffy's bed as the boy rummaged through his cabinets, only to pull out some pills and a first aid kit. Luffy plopped a pill in his mouth and threw the container back in his cabinet, slamming it shut. He opened the first aid kit and placed some basic materials on the top of his desk as he lifted up his shirt, revealing a nasty green-ish purple bruise.

Luffy poked it, wincing, and pulling his hand back almost immediately, letting out a hiss of pain. He let his shirt drop, instead, going to feel the back of his head, sighing when his hand returned with blood on it. "Damn it." The boy muttered, grabbing a bottle and lathering its substance on his hand.

He rubbed the back of his head, groaning when the substance touched his wound. He then took out a gauze pad and placed it over the bleeding area, wrapping his whole head in a Band-Aid.

He left he bruise alone, which made Ace frown. Shouldn't he get some ice? Though, there didn't look to be a refrigerator on his room and the only other one was downstairs back where Teach was . . . on second though, no ice was fine. Neither of them wanted to risk more injuries.

Luffy took off his shirt, mindful of the bruise, and threw it on the floor. Ace couldn't help but notice the giant 'x' shaped scar that was carved onto his chest. It looked old, though it still made Ace bit his lip until it bled. It was probably just another 'gift' from Teach.

Luffy stared at his reflection, his hand ghosting over the scar that decorated most of his chest. He sighed, running his hand through his raven hair and muttered, "How the hell did I get stuck with a man like that? I'm _sick _of being his canvas."

Luffy let out a frustrated snarl, stalking back over to his bed and sat on the blue sheets, staring at his hands. "I want to have a normal life, just like everyone else. I want to be able to have some sort of _freedom! _I don't want to hide in the shadows." He buried his face into his hands. "I can't take this anymore."

"Luffy," Ace cringed, his eyes stinging. Wasn't there a 'him' of this dimension? Why isn't he protecting Luffy? No matter what happened, Ace would _never _leave his little brother in the hands of someone as sick and twisted as Teach. "I'm sorry, you know that? I'm _so sorry. _If I could just do something . . . !" Ace let out a groan of frustration. "Why don't you fight back, Luffy?" He whispered. "You, especially, know that you can't just sit around and wait for miracles to happen. "

"P.E's going to be hell tomorrow," Luffy muttered, falling back on the hard mattress. "And I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Ace informed, rolling his eyes. Even though Luffy wasn't going to be able to notice him, he was going to be there for the boy. Always. This wouldn't end up like last time; he wasn't going to break any more promises.

And he was going to find a way to go home.

* * *

Ace quickly learned that he didn't need to do much of anything. This meant that he didn't need to sleep, didn't need to eat and didn't need to take showers (This made him rather happy, though he would never admit it).

It was pretty nice all in all, except that he might never be able to feel the joy of food again. And the fact that he was laying on Luffy's bed, staring up at the ceiling all night because he just couldn't seem to close his eyes and sleep.

Did this mean no more narcoleptic attacks? Ace hoped so, but he doubted the world would be nice enough to rid him of that particular curse.

Ace was rather glad when Luffy's alarm clock blared off at 6 in the morning, causing the boy to groan and stuff the pillow over his head as if he were trying to keep the sound out. Eventually, the boy got up and walked around the room, getting ready for school.

Ace still thought the idea of school was ridiculous.

He'd never been to school (Being raised by mountain bandits and all) and he doubted that his Luffy had even knew what school was. Sabo was the only one out of the three that had the slightest bit of education on something other than fighting.

The thought of Luffy going to school and learning stuff was ridiculous.

But he went anyways; putting on a shirt that covered his arms so people wouldn't see the bruises (Ace had dubbed that Luffy didn't have a devil fruit in this world) and had taken the bandage that was wrapped around his head and throwing it into the trash.

The boy had grabbed his so-called-back pack and was out of his bedroom a minute later, Ace following close behind. Teach was still home, sadly, and it took all of Ace's willpower not to jump on the man and stab him. Repeatedly.

He kept having to remind himself that he could not be touched, seen or heard. Annoying, but it was still the truth and no matter how much Ace wanted to torch the bastard, he couldn't.

Didn't stop him from trying to throw his knife at the man, though. After all, he was a good stress-reliever.

* * *

School, apparently, was loud. And crowed and did he mention loud? Yeah, it was basically a breeding ground for irresponsible teens with drugs and alcohol.

Ace hated ever second of it.

Especially the part where the kids went right through him; he was still getting use to the fact that no one could sense him at all. Annoying as it was, it was still better than being solid and having fat kids clumsily bump into you every few seconds.

And he had to endure another eight hours of this? Um, can he get a rain check? Because, honestly, he'd rather be back at the house with Teach (who'd probably be passed out on the couch all day) than in this devil's ass that they called school.

Give him a marine battle ship and he can down that in a few minutes tops, give him school, and he's just about ready to beg on his hands and knees.

Maybe he was going insane?

Ace watched a kid with a major pimple problem walk by, snot dripping out of his left nostril as he fixed his glasses before racing off to class.

Oh yep, defiantly insane.

* * *

"Aren't you guys supposed to be Luffy's friends?" Ace scolded, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at the weirdoes gathered around the table. Apparently, school was already halfway over (Four hours of something called Linear equations in math that Ace didn't bother to pay attention to and other such gibberish). A bell had rung a few minutes ago, signaling lunch (It still kind of pissed Ace off that he couldn't eat anything).

"I mean," Ace continued from his spot in the middle of the table. Yes—he was sitting in the middle of the table since he was invisible and could do what he wanted to. "You claim to be his friends, yet none of you know what's going on in his house?" The male's eyes darkened. "You're all so dense."

Ace let out a sigh as everyone just continued to chat away happily, completely oblivious of his presence. The only thing that he found amusing in this word was talking, even if no one could hear him. He could criticize people as much as he wanted and they couldn't hear a word. It was nice, but he did miss people responding.

"Lu~ffy!" One of his little brother's friends laughed, slapping the boy on the back. Luffy winced, though the other teen didn't seem to notice. Ace was pretty sure that he'd me the kid back in Alabasta, though he couldn't exactly remember his name. Only the freakishly long nose that the kid had somehow inherited. Bunny-hop? No, that wasn't it. Robot? No. Usopp? Mmmm. That sounded more like it. "Slow down! The food's not going anywhere. You're going to choke if you keep eating that fast!"

Luffy muttered gibberish to his friend, though he did slow don't just a bit so he wouldn't spray food when he was talking. His chocolate brown eyes sparkled with a new light, something that Ace was more than happy to see. It was like Luffy was acting like his old self, not to pitiful boy that his from his demons.

It was good to see that not even Teach could break the boy's spirit.

"You guys know nothing about food," Ace declared, slamming his fist on his other hand. "Do you know how many times my dinner has literally gotten up and walked away?" He frowned. "It happens _a lot."_

Again, no one heard him as they continued on with their conversation without a care in the world. Ace's left eye twitched, his face contorting into a pout. It would be nice if someone acknowledged him or _something. _But he knew that was never going to happen again.

"Are you going to the forest with us, Luffy?" A green haired man—Ace remembered his name to be Zoro, Luffy's first mate—rested his head on his hand, staring at the boy with shark, hawk-like eyes. "It's been forever since you've come with us."

A flash of panic appeared on Luffy's face, although no one noticed it. "I can't," Luffy answered, placing a rather forced smile on his face. "I have a family issue back at home and I have to be there."

"But you always have family issues," A red head—Nami—complained, rolling her beautiful orange eyes. "Come on, just this once?"

Luffy hesitated, his eyes flashing with an unknown emotion. "I can't." He repeated with a sigh, running his hands through his already messy, black hair. He offered a small smile to his friends who were staring at him, eyes full of worry.

Huh, so maybe—just _maybe—_they suspected something after all.

A loud ringing sound snapped Ace out of his thoughts, making his wince. The bell was probably the most annoying part of this school—constantly ringing every hour or so (Ace didn't care to count).

Luffy finished off his lunch in a few seconds and emptied the rest in the trash; quickly grabbing his bags and waved to his friends. The panic and fear was gone, replaced with genuine happiness. "I'll see you guys after class!"

Ace took this as his cue to leave, jumping off the table with ease and jogging after his little brother. Though, he didn't miss the, "Something's wrong with Luffy." From Nami.

Ace snorted as he passed them. Oh, how right they were.

Once his friends were out of earshot, Luffy lowered his head, passing through the halls with a depressed air around him. "They don't get it." He whispered, his voice hoarse. "I can't go! Teach'll kill me for sure!"

"Like hell he will," Ace responded, his eyes blazing. Why did Luffy always have to bring up that bastard's name? "I thought I told you that I was going to protect you." They continued to walk down the halls. "Not that you're able to hear me."

"I want to go into the forest again," Luffy continued in that same low whisper. "It's been forever since I've seen Brooke, Chopper and Franky. I wanna see them again!"

"Isn't Chopper a reindeer?" Ace's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember Luffy's weird collection of nakama. "I doubt he's a reindeer in this world. There don't seem to be any devil fruits here. Do you know how weird that is?"

Luffy's pace started to slow down when they approached a door and casually threw it open, ignoring the looks that he got from the other students who were unpacking their things for the start of the period.

Of course, the first ting that Ace noticed was the _very _familiar red-headed man that stood in the front of the class, holding a plastic sword.

Wait. No fucking way.

_Shanks? _

Did the man even know how to teach a subject? Ace doubted it, after all, the redhead was not known for his book-smarts. Alcohol and sword fighting? Yes. Books? Um, no.

"Finally decided to join us, Luffy?" The man teased, his bright eyes sparking with mischief.

Luffy puffed out his cheeks in an adorable way and waved his hands around in an exasperated manner. "I'm not late, the bell hasn't rung yet."

Just at that moment, the shrill sound echoed through the school, sending the other kids into a fit of laughter. Shanks just sent Luffy a cocky look as Luffy grumbled about witch craft before taking a seat in one of those desks that Ace hated.

Ace, refusing to sit in those stupid seats, opted for the teacher's desk near the window so he could sunbathe in the warm heat. Reaching the desk in a few seconds, he hopped up and sat on the papers, not really caring about anything. He stared out the window longingly, watching as the birds flew freely in the sky.

_Freedom. _

Ace missed it. He wanted to be back out in the open ocean, wild and free. He wanted to fight the marines, laugh with his brothers and sisters again. He wanted to sing with them as the sunset and they had all managed to get drunk. He wanted to pull pranks on Marco and laugh as the blonde would start chasing him across the deck with Oyaji laughing at both of their usual antics.

When had it all gone wrong?

Oh, that's right. _Teach. _The backstabber who had killed his _nakama. _The bastard that is currently abusing his _brother _and making is Ace's hell even worse. The bastard who had cried out in fear, his behind his crew, and laughed as the downed Oyaji.

_Was I a good father?_

Ace shut his eyes tightly. He didn't want to think about the war. Knowing that he was the cause of his brothers and sisters deaths as well as his own _father _was more than Ace could handle emotionally. He still had to deal with this whole otherworld thing before he could grieve for his family.

Sure, he had kind of accepted this whole 'other universe' thing blindly, but what else could he believe? He was like a light breeze to these people. He couldn't do anything. Besides, his world didn't have the metal monsters—care, as they were called—or this kind of peace.

Well, it wasn't exactly peaceful, but it was still better than his world. He'd only been here for a day and was already figuring things out.

There was knocking on the door and Shanks had to stop his lecture that had something to do with 'comparing Russia and Canada' (whatever the hell those things were) and went to open the door for the student outside.

A student Ace happened to recognize immediately.

"This is a note from the office, Mr. Shanks," The man grinned. A grin that Ace missed _so much. _

He didn't even realize that he'd jumped off the teacher's table; his eyes wide and his mouth open slightly agape. How long had it been?

How long has it been since he'd seen this man—a man that Ace would've never thought to see again? How long had he grieved for his fallen comrade? How long had he blamed himself for the man's death?

A _long _time.

But apparently it wasn't long enough because he was standing right there . . . !

A single whisper passed through his lips, though Ace hardly took notice. "_Thatch." _

* * *

**Fanfiction has been pissing me off. I don't know why, but almost every time I've tried to get on, it says something about the server and crap. Of course, one of my favorite stories had to update while my fanficion was being a jackass, meaning I couldn't read it for a while. **

**That's pretty much the whole reason that I got this chapter done-I was bored out of my mind. **


	3. A little Noisy

Ace should've expected this; really, he should've.

Semi-Parallel universe, remember?

Yeah, except he didn't, really. Who would expect that his _dead _brother would appear right in front of him _alive and well? _Because in all actuality, Ace was mentally scolding himself for not seeing this outcome sooner. Though, to be fair, this encounter _did _raise his hopes up just a little. Though, he didn't realize this until later.

He was too busy trying to process that _Thatch _was right in front of him, _not _with a damn hole in his chest.

"Erm," Thatch's smile was a little bit more forced, now. The whole class stared at him, with the exception of Luffy, whom was too busy staring out the window to notice anything happening outside of his little world. Thatch shuffled his feet a bit, handing a piece of paper to Shanks. "Sorry 'bout being late, Mr. Shanks. The office had to talk to be for a bit."

"Get caught with another prank, eh, Thatch?!" A student called out, followed by a wild round of laughter. Even Luffy, who was previously dead to the world, looked up and grinned at the sight of the brunette.

Ace raised an eyebrow. Did Luffy know Thatch in this world?

Chuckling, Shanks snatched the letter from Thatch's hand and patted the man on the back. He looked at his students, rolling his eyes and waving a hand. "Yes, yes. It's very funny to all of us when Thatch's pranks go wrong. Now quiet please." He turned to Thatch, with a happy smile. Though Ace did happen to notice the warning look that clearly said, 'just shut up'. "Thatch, have a seat behind Luffy."

"Yessir!" Thatch said, saluting the teacher and earning more laughs from students. He then scurried to his seat after receiving another warning look from Shanks. Eventually, the excitement died down and Shanks resumed his lesson, though no one was really paying attention.

Ace assumed the teacher knew this, and assumed that the only reason that Shanks was teaching like this was because he had to. After all, no one wanted to just sit through a lecture all day, especially the teachers.

Shanking his head, Ace shifted on the desk so he could face Thatch. He stared at his 'dead' nakama longingly, knowing that he'll never be able to contact him. The man had barley changed; he was a little younger and his clothing choice was different but it _was still Thatch. _

_He was still his nakama._

How long had it been? The last time Ace saw his friend was face down in a puddle of his own blood, knife to the back and _not breathing. _Dead.

Not very found memories, huh?

Thatch was his nakama. Thatch was dead. Why is he alive here? Why did this Thatch have to live while the other died? It wasn't fair, damnit!

Ace hated this world.

So far he'd only seen everything that he _didn't want to. _He'd seen enemies that should be –deserve to be—dead and _long _gone. His one and only light was currently a subject of child abuse. His dead beast friend is alive and apparently won't _ever _be able to see him.

It pissed Ace off.

Before the fire-user realized what he was doing, he had already jumped down from the teacher's desk and stomped straight over to Thatch's desk.

_His friend. His brother. _

He barley even reached the desk as he collapsed, holding his head. Memories and emotions that he'd been holding down since Thatch's death resurfaced and he tried desperately not to let them out. After all, what's the point in crying over spilt milk?

But then again, your nakama isn't your milk.

His head spun. Ace wanted to—no, needed to say so many thing but he couldn't. He was frozen; petrified. Like a poison was running through his veins. He opened his mouth for no words to come out; just choked whispers and broken garble.

Pitiful. He was pitiful. Why couldn't he say something? Why couldn't he say what he desperately needs to say and have his friend hear him? Understand him? Thatch was going to live his life—this life, without him. Without knowing what had happened. What might happen.

It was a possibility, right? Teach was still alive and so was Thatch. Thatch could die by Teach's hand yet again. Fall victim to the suffering that Luffy is currently undergoing.

Ace clenched his fists, his eyes flashing in anger. No, he wouldn't let that happen.

It was the same as last night; Ace wallowing in his self-pit and self-loathing while his brothers remained blissfully unaware of anything that was going on around them.

That was okay, though. He'd protect them.

_He'd be their guardian angel. _

"I'm sorry," Ace found himself blurting out. Words just seemed to pour out of his mouth in tsunami like waves. He didn't know if they held any meaning. He didn't know he they could understand. But they needed out; after all, how would hear them anyway? "I wasn't there. I couldn't save you. I couldn't avenge you. I was captured, though I bet you'd just laugh at me." He took a deep breath, reclaiming his emotions. "Thatch, they went to _war _for me. They died because of _me. _Oyaji died because of _me."_ He paused, looking out the window and imagining the sea; the freedom that it brought. "I wonder if you'd ever hate me . . . ?" He sighed. "I remember once—before I officially joined. You said, 'you might as well stop resisting. You're already our brother, Ace! You're our nakama!' I guess I just didn't realize how true your words were."

Thatch never responded.

Ace flinched, closing his eyes. This was hell. This was most definitely hell. It was like he was silenced; his words no longer made any sound. No one could hear him scream. No one could hear him fall.

Suddenly Thatch leaned forward with a concerned from, poking Luffy's back to try and get the younger's attention while Shanks droned on in the background. The raven-haired male turned around with a grin and tilted his head to the side, clearly asking 'what's up?' without using words.

Thatch's eyes furrowed, reaching out and brushing the back of Luffy's neck. There was a bruise there; one that Ace knew probably came from Teach. If he looked hard enough, he could see the fingers prints that were left behind. "What happened to you're neck?" He hissed, carful to keep his voice down so Shanks wouldn't catch them. "That looks like it would hurt. You okay?"

Unconsciously, Luffy rubbed the injured spot and wincing, though he forced a smile. "That? It's nothing."

"'S not nothing to me."

Luffy waved the question off; becoming a little tenser each time he spoke. "I probably just got in in a fight, 'kay? It doesn't really bother me so I didn't notice it."

"Uh-huh." Thatch said with an eye roll, but he did lean back in his seat, seemingly accepting Luffy's poor excuse for the time being. Without warning, Thatch's features hardened and he grabbed Luffy's shoulder. "Luffy, if anyone's hurting you, let me know, okay? I'm you're friend. I want to help."

The boy flinched and looked away from Thatch with a frown. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning back around and opening his eyes. "No one is hurting me. I'm fine."

Thatch sighed like he'd gotten this answer a thousand times before. "Luffy, I'm serious—"

The bell rang, interrupting anything that Thatch had to say. Luffy had gathered all of his stuff and was up and out the door before the brunette could even respond. Ace jumped up afterwards, racing out the room and only vaguely hearing Shanks shout, "Luffy! You're homework!"

Ace joggled along side Luffy as he exited the building. Ace assumed school was over (thank Oda!) as all the other kids were racing for the doors, shouting and laughing as their hell was over. However, for Luffy, his hell was only beginning.

His thoughts drifted to Thatch and Luffy's conversation earlier. Could Thatch help Luffy? Ace wanted to believe it, he really did, but the last time Thatch faced off against Teach it ended up with a dagger straight to the back. Ace didn't want that to happen again. He didn't think he could watch his friend dying _twice. _

Luffy, of course, had no such thoughts as he exited the school grounds, pulling his coat tighter around his body as a cold, winter air blew past them. The boy shivered, burring his head deeper into his coat as he ears stared to turn a bright pink.

It pissed Ace off that he could feel the weather and nothing else.

The raven-haired male flipped his hoodie up so it would cover his face as he stared to jog through students again. It was a skill that Ace wished he had, after all, ever time he tried to dodge a female clown, they'd end up just flying right through him (It still made the fire-user uncomfortable).

"I won't tell him," Luffy declared, eyes glancing back at the door as Thatch pushed it open, calling out Luffy's name. "Teach'll kill him. I can't tell. I can't tell." He closed his eyes, letting out a harsh breath.

Ace grimaced at the threat. "That sounds like something the bastard would do, eh?"

"He's killed people before." Luffy continued, catching Ace's interest. "Five years and they still haven't found the murderer? What a joke."

Murderer? Teach killed someone? Ace shouldn't have been surprised, after all, he is know to be a nakama-killer back in his world, but this world was different. It was so much more calm than Ace's was—no, is.

They continued to walk in silence after that. Ace stuffed his hands in his pockets; humming Bink's Sake under his breath, bring back the nostalgic memories back when everything was perfect.

Ace missed those times. There was no war, there was no death, there was no backstabbing bastard nakama or shitty marines who have a wrong sense of justice. There was no Teach, no Akainu, and no Marineford.

Everything was bliss.

Yet those times are just distant memories now. There was no way anything would ever go back to those days. And even if he could find a way to get back to his world, would his nakama really want him back? He'd led them to slaughter. He was the reason that their father died.

Who would want a brother like that?

_No matter what happens, we're still family, Ace! Remember that!_

But he didn't. His family was _dead _because of _him. _He couldn't face them if he ever went back. He couldn't talk to them knowing that he was the cause of hundreds of deaths. Yet somewhere, deep within himself, he still longs for the familiar comfort of someone around him.

He missed them. All of them.

He missed Thatch. He missed Oyaji. He missed Marco. He missed his nakama on the Moby Dick. He missed _Luffy._

And no, he was not talking about the Luffy that he was currently following because no matter how much he tried to convince himself, this was _not _his brother. This was not the boy that changed his life. This was no the boy that ran into a war—After going through hell, mind you—and trying to save his sorry ass.

No, this was a completely different person.

Ace didn't even want to know what happened to his little brother after the war. Would he cry? Would he blame himself? Was he even alive in the first place? Ace hoped so because no matter what he did in life, his brother didn't deserve any of that.

So deep within his thoughts, Ace didn't even notice that he'd turned down _that _alley.

The one that harbored the devil himself.

He stood by Luffy's side as the 17 year old stared at the door, closing his eyes for a brief second before pushing the thing open and entering the devil's trap yet again.

* * *

Thankfully, Teach was asleep when the boys entered the house. Luffy didn't spend his time dilly-dallying and instead chose to dart up the stairs to his room and disappear. Ace glared once at Teach's unmoving body before moving to catch up with Luffy, wondering what the boy would do.

Ace walked right through the door, catching sigh of Luffy's red vest as he jumped out the window. Ace quirked an eyebrow, but followed anyway, running as soon as his feet hit the ground.

Luffy sprinted in a seemingly unknown direction, with Ace catching up quickly.

That is, until Luffy took an unexpected turn and had Ace run into a wall.

Once the fire-user righted himself, he sighed, taking off into a sprint once again. He looked up and saw a forest looming ahead, not unlike the one that he and Luffy grew up in.

He barley watched as Luffy's vest disappeared into the trees, quickly followed by any sight of the boy. Ace frowned once he reached the forest line, putting his hands on his hips. "Great. Just great. I'm probably going to get lost in here—"

A faint, yet familiar sound echoed through the trees, causing Ace to freeze, his eyes widening. He sprinted off in the direction of the sound, praying that it wasn't what—who—he thought it was.

But of course, fate hated him as usual.

After all, should he really be surprised that his once dead brother is now alive again? Not to mention the fact the he didn't seem to be a ghost like Ace was. Well, the only bright side of this whole experience was that he found Luffy.

Ohhhhhhhhhh. Ace was ready for some booze at the moment because out of all stupid things this world had to have in it, this was once of them? First Thatch, now _him? _Who was next? Oyaji?

Yet, Ace really shouldn't have been surprised.

After all, Sabo really did find a way to always have their backs.

* * *

** I had a snow day today so I just went and typed this thing up ;w; Also because I'm sort of pissed and need to rant. Ranting to readers is always the best way to relive stress. ANYWAYS. I had three moles (pffft. They looked more like freckles) taken off today and I have a giant headache to whatever crap they gave me. But I'm more ranting about the fact that I got six shots. /cries. Shots are my worst nightmare, okay? Specially when four of them are in neck and two were near my *cough* chest areas. **

**So, not fun. **

**Well, hope you all liked this chapter. It took me a bit to write out because I kept getting really distracted and I still have to finish art commissions even though I just want to be suppppperrrr lazy today. **


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